1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a vehicle drive control apparatus for controlling drive force output from a motor functioning as a drive source of the vehicle according to operation of an accelerator.
2. Description of the Related Art
As described in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 61-190135 (JP-61-190135 A), a vehicle such as an automobile has a controller which controls drive force output from a motor according to a driver's operation of an accelerator, and the vehicle is driven by transmitting the drive force output from the motor to wheels. The vehicle further has a shift mechanism which enables the driver to selectively switch the shift position either to a driving position or a non-driving position. When the shift position is in the driving position, the drive force is transmitted from the motor to the wheels, whereas when the shift position is in the non-driving position, the transmission of the drive force from the motor to the wheels is suspended.
When a driver tries to start a vehicle from a stopped position, the driver usually switches the shift position from the non-driving position to the driving position before operating the accelerator to turn it from OFF to ON. However, if the driver is in hurry, for example, he/she may possibly turn the accelerator ON before switching the shift position from the non-driving position to the driving position. If this happens, even though the driver intends to perform normal operation as described above, the operation actually may result in unusual one in which, for example, the shift position is switched to the driving position with the accelerator turned ON.
If the driver unconsciously performs an operation that is different from the normal one as described above, the actual behavior of the vehicle may differ from the one that is intended by the driver. Specifically, whereas the driver intends to start the vehicle upon turning the accelerator ON, the vehicle is actually not started until the shift position is switched to the driving position after the accelerator is turned ON and the drive force is transmitted from the motor to the wheels. When the drive force of the motor is transmitted to the wheels after the shift position is switched to the driving position with the accelerator turned ON, this may give the driver a sense of discomfort or strangeness.